Yardsmart: Protecting a young fruit tree in the summer

Anyone with a young fruit tree should understand the three fundamentals of summer care that keep these plants healthy, protected and growing as vigorously as possible.

Maureen Gilmer

Anyone with a young fruit tree should understand the three fundamentals of summer care that keep these plants healthy, protected and growing as vigorously as possible.

-- Avoid sunburn. Young fruit trees have a very small canopy that cannot shade the tender bark of the trunk from the hot summer sun. If exposed, the tender young bark burns, then blisters, and the vital cambium layer underneath dies. Once this occurs, the flow of nutrients and water through the cambium layer is cut off in the burn area. Many pests and diseases enter young trees through sunburn blisters, which are the most common cause of premature death.

Protect your young trees as orchard farmers have for centuries: by painting the trunk white. Use white interior latex as your sunscreen because it does not contain fungicides. Thin it with water to allow oxygen to reach the bark underneath the paint. Lightly coat the entire trunk from soil up to where the branches begin. If there isn't yet enough foliage to shade the crotch and lower branches, then paint those parts, too.

-- Prune unwanted growth. Young fruit trees are vulnerable to two types of undesirable rank growth. These fast-growing whiplike stems can crop up quickly anytime over the growing season, so keep a sharp eye out for them. Otherwise they will demand growth energy that would otherwise go toward development of a larger canopy.

Suckers originate at the base of the trunk, often below the graft union. This is rootstock material that may not match the rest of the tree. It's so named because these shoots literally suck off growth energy before it can support the upper portion of the tree. Water sprouts are similar, but they originate in the canopy itself.

Prune away water sprouts and suckers close to the trunk, but not flush, to avoid dieback, which can damage the tree. Repeat this process the moment new leaves appear in these problem areas. An old trick is to rub off the freshly sprouted leaves with a finger, which reduces the chances of its return.

-- Deep water. Your goal for tending a young fruit tree is to encourage a large and very deep root system that remains moist and cool through the heat of the summer. New gardeners tend to wet the top few inches of soil and call it watered, but deeper down the root ball is dry. Unless you irrigate in a way that wets the soil deep underground, your tree will root only where you've provided moisture –– on the surface, where the soil is hot and dries out quickly in the summer sun.

Build a large berm around each fruit tree for a deep and expansive well. Fill the well with water, then let it percolate downward at the proper rate for your soil type. Refill as often as you like in dry weather, and feel free to mulch the surface to reduce surface evaporation rates.

Above all, discipline yourself to cut off any new fruit that forms in the first few summers. This helps your tree produce a strong trunk and branches before taking on the job of ripening a crop.

Remember that your fruit tree is just like a child –– in a way, at least. What you do today and throughout these first years will be key to a successful adult tomorrow.

Maureen Gilmer is an author, horticulturist and landscape designer. Learn more at www.MoPlants.com. Contact her at mogilmer@yahoo.com or P.O. Box 891, Morongo Valley, CA 92256.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.